The compression stop assembly prevents an abrupt stop of a piston at the end of the damper compression stroke by generating an additional damping force which increases progressively as the piston rod displaces.
Publication WO 2014/085954 discloses a hydraulic damper with a compression stop assembly comprising a supporting member partitioning damper internal tube and provided with an axial opening and at least one passage for a substantially unobstructed flow of working liquid; an axial member disposed slidably within said axial opening; a rigid body fixed on said axial member and provided with at least one compression flow passage and at least one rebound flow passage; a compression stroke disc assembly comprising at least one deflective disc and normally covering the compression side of said rigid body; a rebound stroke disc assembly comprising at least one deflective disc and normally covering the rebound side of said rigid body; a first spring disposed between said supporting member and the compression side of said rigid body to normally press said axial member into the compression chamber; and a second spring secured to the rebound side of said rigid body.
Such a construction provides versatile tuning opportunities for shaping damping force characteristics with regard to the position as well as the velocity of the piston rod combining both mechanical (springs), as well as hydraulic (flow passages) damping. Nonetheless this damping force may still become harsh at the position, in which the rigid body abruptly presses the supporting member allowing for a flow of working liquid solely through the compression disc assembly.
Publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,927 discloses a hydraulic damper having a base valve assembly provided with a rotary plate having a plurality of openings corresponding to the base valve slots, rotatably connected on the base valve. Rotation of the plate selectively opens or covers up the slots with the openings to permit the fluid flow from the lower chamber to the base valve reservoir. The rotary plate is connected by an axial bore, a stem and an arm to a turnable steering knuckle assembly which enables varying the damping characteristics of the damper based on a steering motion of a vehicle's wheels.
It has been the object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic damper with a compression stop of a simple construction providing versatile tuning options. Yet another object of the present invention has been to provide a damper with a compression stop that would not require substantial modification of the remaining elements of a damper and which might be employed as an add-on device in existing damper designs.